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Google Maps War With Apple Is Over - Google Won

BBC News posted an excellent article today on Google Maps and their battle with Apple in the coming mapping wars. But the war was over before it started and Apple lost. They lost the day they cancelled the Google maps integration. Apple fans lost, especially.

BBC technology reporter Leo Kelion opens his post: “A new front opens up in the smartphone battle between Google and Apple this week when the search giant’s mapping technology is dropped from iPhones and iPads’ Maps app when they are upgraded to the latest version of the iOS operating system.”

Plain and simple: Google has the best data. Data wins in the mapping war and Google has an enormous lead because it is one of its greatest strengths. My prediction: Apple will start licensing the Google Maps data again within a couple of years. It is in the customer’s best interest and Apple’s, too. After all, if one of the reasons you have a smartphone is tied to navigation, your mobile phone device better make it possible. This isn’t about Google versus Apple – this is about serving the customer’s needs.

Here are three clues that Apple will probably head back to Google Maps within 24 months:

1. Kelion explained that Apple Maps rely mostly on TomTom, the handheld personal navigation device. “Apple’s Maps app will be based on technologies it adapted from three start-ups it bought between 2009 and 2011. But much of the raw location data itself is licensed from TomTom, the sat-nav gadget-maker.”

However, satellite navigation is facing an enormous battle given the speed and ubiquity of mobile phone technology and smartphone apps. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that TomTom is now starting to transition to a mapping company. You can read it here. Just starting? Another plug for Google Maps. The TomTom is a cool device, but if they are just starting to transition to “mapping” company, Apple made a bad choice. I know that Apple fans are going to say “Apple did what they had to do given the circumstances…” Okay. Remember, I’m actually an Apple fan, too. I’m simply saying that Google Maps is the superior product and customers deserve the best.

Kelion writes that the move is a blow to Google, but it is likely to be a short term advertising revenue blip for the Mountain View giant. True, they will not be able to show “sponsored links” on the default Apple iPhone maps for a while, but after Apple licks their wounds and heads back to Google Maps that revenue stream will flow again.

2. Ground Truth – you have to read Kelion’s post (link below) to fully grasp the power of what Google has done. In addition to their (now) traditional digital mapping efforts, they have analyzed streets signs, speed limits, addresses, rights of way at intersections (huge), and other details that make your map experience as close to real life as you can get. Plus, they have human operators checking each area for mistakes before it is added to the live map. And this is available in 31 nations. Tie in the user-generated potential (where you can create and correct maps) and you have a stream of data that Apple’s new direction cannot match. Like Arnold, they’ll be back.

3. This is a small reason/clue, but many urban dwellers love the map feature that revolves around public transportation. Some of the best data comes from the GTDF — the Google Transit Data Feed. Sure, loads of people drive, but in big metros public transport is heavily used, by Apple users who may want their GTDF back. Again, this is about the customer. Of course, there are loads of other mapping features native to Google Maps that Apple will have to spend a fortune to replicate. Riding a bus or train is just a tiny one.

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I have a huge respect for professionalism of Forbes as a magazine. After all, most articles go really deep and open up interesting insights in today’s tech. I have to say, on the other hand, this article is shockingly disappointing. I have no problem with Google and it’s additional mapping technology, it it the world’s leading and I am quite sure the pure GIS companies and even governments are looking with envy at what could be achieved. No, it is the core mapping stuff that got my interest in TJ’s article and others. Would you please gentlemen do your homework and study the essentials regarding the history of online mapping and it’s core authors and update providers? What is, perhaps, the relationship between data suppliers, data aggregators and data users? Ever heard of company called TeleAtlas and it’s “relationship” with TomTom? What about Navtech? Ever heard of local TeleAtlas suppliers in various countries? And what is has to do with Google and huge list of others, Apple including? Ever wondered how old might be TomTom’s excitement about in-house data? I would suggest bit of a private study time and significant re-write of this article. Many thanks. David

“Since Apple’s Map App can do searches on the web to find information, just like Siri, then it can do things just like Google Maps can.

The basics are there – directions, turn-by-turn directions (which Google forbade Apple to do on the iPhone), the data for points of interest, etc.”

This is short sighted. Look at what’s it like right now: PoI? Failes! Streetnames? Failure again!

“Since the data can also include third party data, in the long-run Apple’s Maps will surpass Google’s data.”

Maybe they will be able to keep up with google in the future. maybe they will be better someday. maybe they will always stay behind… who knows… anyhow: why are you so confident that apply will surpass google?

“And the consumers win because they don’t have to see Google Ads. Nor will Google be capturing their data.”

But apple will. are you really that narrow-minded that you think apple does everything better just because they are apple? there will be ads on apple maps and there will be capturing of data with apple phones… oh wait – this is happening already…

“And with maps integrated across every Apple platform and device, Apple Maps ultimately can do more than the non-integrated, browser limited Google Maps.”

oh c’mon! now you’re being rediculous! the INTEGRATION has nothing to do with the maps service itself. the article above addressed the lack in quality of the MAPS SERVICE. if you look at iOS5 and earlier, google maps was very well integrated. now that you have a shitty maps service on iOS6, you start comparing this to the (not-any-more-existing) integration in iOS6. If you want a “real” comparison, compare the iOS6-maps integration with the iOS5-maps integration.

unless Apple build their own data, or tomtom build their own data in the way that google does every single day with street view vans driving around taking pictures of every inch of urban environment of the countries it supports google maps for, they will NEVER, EVER be able to provide an accurate navigation service such as found on google maps or android phones (using google naviation)

have you tried a tomtom lately? I was just given the VIA 130 as a gift. I put in the address of a building in my area and it thinks it does not exit, it thinks there’s only 50 buildings on that road when i know there are 70. I even type in the building’s name, and it does not want to know. the same applies on apple’s new maps service – since it is piggybacking off tomtom its the same useless data!

On google maps i type in the buildings name, and immediately i have the name pop up underneath my written text on the web browser, ready to star the address and whip out my phone and navigate to it. if i type in the building number instead it still finds it instantly. there’s zero google maps cannot find.

not only that, i am a courier in my area. i build a map of starred addresses using google maps every morning. 100 starred addresses takes me just 10-15 minutes, and they are immediately synced to maps on my phone. I can then use the map as and when i stop at each address to unstar wherever i have been and follow along my route. due to this i can deliver 110 packages in a 4 miles radius area in just 4 hours.

please show me the same functionality with your beloved apple maps, or tomtom data. simply not possible. no way.

this is the reality. google is in control and whether you like it or not, you`ll never get anything better in the near future unless apple wakes up and gets google maps back.

Found this article looking for a review of the TomTom app and just had to chuckle at your predictions. Care to revise any of it now that Google Maps had over 10 million downloads in the first two days after it hit the app store? Speaking for myself, it has been several months and apple’s attempt is still embarrassing for a company with that much money.

Google won? Really? The lastest tablets from Amazon will have Nokia Navigation instead of Google Maps. And the default search is Bing. How ironic, because they use Android as the OS. In a year or two, Amazon may take over Android from Google, much like how Google had taken away Java from Oracle.

Thanks to everyone for the conversation here. Lots of excellent points. I could respond to each one, including the insults, but let me summarize here to some of the main points:

1. Yes, I’m very aware of Tele-Atlas. Quite aware. TomTom acquired them, then promptly wrote off most of the acquisition as a bad debt, more or less. Have you watched TomTom’s stock market trajectory or should I say plummet. Come on. My point is that they moved too slowly instead focusing on SatNav. There’s still a place for their devices, but read up abt the bigger trends and simply look at the sheer volume of data that Google has collected. No one else comes close. I appreciate Google and what they’ve done in this arena, but that doesn’t make me an Apple hater or Google fanboy. The other GPS types are playing catch up, stated or between-the-line fact from the horse’s mouth in most cases. There’s plenty of market data about competitor performance.

2. This is less a criticism of Apple and more a statement of fact around core focus. Apple is not in the data business to the extent that Google is. They are entering the race with some of their efforts. No doubt, they have the resources to catch up, but why? In a partnership with Google, they could build on a solid base of map data and truly serve the customer. Perhaps we will see that they achieve this, but i have my doubts.

3. Some have pointed out the OSM work and that Apple is using this open source work. Please share some links; I would love to read those.

4. Rather than race to the bottom of the barrel in your comments, for those who do mostly name-calling and labeling around grammar or because they are in the mix of people who have that emotional brain connection to Apple products that eliminates rational thinking, save it for someone who won’t find your comments amusing. I’m interested in real discussion — would you curse and call people names IRL? If so, you should stay under your rock. Fair enough that my title was slightly provocative, but I’m not trying to bash Apple and I believe my language/points are reasonable, however much they may differ from yours. But feel free to fire off the invective, the spam button doesn’t really hurt when I press it. Seriously, think about what you write — your profile is often trackable by potential employers and partners and would they want to hire such negative thinking? I’m not wounded or offended by your comments, btw, just surprised at people who can’t communicate with kindness and professionalism. Forbes only hires big boys. Enough said.

5. I really do appreciate your comments and enjoy the conversation. There’s lots of good posts that explore how Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook are changing the world with their platforms and location-based stuff is key to a lot of it. Last point — much of Google’s existence relies on Maps, so this isn’t a flippant effort to toss a product out there and if it doesn’t stick, kill it. Look at how many of their products work and you’ll see mapping data at the core. This isn’t a see-what-sticks thing.

Well i don’t have an iphone so can’t comment on how imaps work. But i can give you an example from India.

Map My India (MMI) is the leading provider of digital maps in India and they are in this field for many years. It sells maps to almost all companies for navigational and other use. As a user of MMI i loved their maps till i used Google navigation.

Google only launched their navigation feature for India in September 2012 but after using it all i can say , MMI navigation is no where near to Google navigation. The search, Traffic, alternate route , you name any feature its much much superior in Google navigation.

With Waze and Tom Tom tieup apple has to do lot of catching up to match google not only in US but across the world.

I wishing good luck to Apple and imaps, as without competition consumers wont get superior products , services and features.